Meet Lisa Haycox

Head Office

My Explore journey began in the Peterborough centre as a Tutor way back in December 2002. I was part of the team that launched the brand new centre and within six months, having seen my potential, my Centre Director (CD) advised that I apply for an Assistant Director (AD) role. I was already passionate about supporting all of the children that attended and was desperate to learn more about how I could impact Explores exciting growth plans. I learnt so much in the Tutor role –I strongly believe that it provided the foundations for my future progression at Explore.

Being an Assistant Director in the Reading centre allowed me to develop a wealth of new skills from sales through to finance. When I was offered the Peterborough Centre Director position I jumped at the opportunity and was excited to lead a team growing the centre’s membership. As CD I worked alongside superb Assistant Directors and a brilliant team of Tutors, it was an extremely exciting time implementing new initiatives and really building our reputation in the local community. I continued to develop my leadership and management skills and always looked for opportunities to learn from other great CDs across the company.

It was at this point in my career that I was offered the opportunity to move into the Head office team taking on two new roles as Regional Manager and Head of Training. Bill and Rob (our CEO and MD) recognised my potential and put their trust in me, and that recognition of top talent and promotion of super star individuals within Explore continues to this day and is an area I am extremely passionate about! I’m thrilled today that 73% of our current Head Office team have come from working in centres.

As a Regional Manager & Head of Training, I focused on the fact that people are at the core of our business – we develop great people who deliver great performance. I helped to create our original development programme which to this day ensures that our brightest and most capable people are given the right opportunities to develop and progress. Explore Learning is a brilliant place to foster talent and bring it right through the business. Explore was growing at such a fast rate (and still is) that it became unsustainable to carry on doing both roles and so I dedicated my efforts solely to training for a time before I then took on another new position as Performance Director in January 2013.

While I was Performance Director I supported the Regional Managers across the company and worked alongside other Head Office departments to drive business performance. When Explores exciting expansion made this position a workload for two, I then handed over Performance Director responsibilities to Richard & Amandeep (who have also been promoted from our centres) and I progressed to become Head of Operations.

In my role as Operations Director I now support a range of teams from Sales to Customer Support to HR. I’m so lucky to work alongside such talented department teams who are constantly looking at ways to improve and provide a better service to our members and staff. In 2016 I officially became a Board Director, and I am now firmly involved in the strategic direction of the business alongside my peers. In my new role I’ll keep looking forward to driving the business growth – primarily by developing our brilliant in people, delivering the very best service and ensuring that our members are reaching their educational goals. This focus has always been the heart of Explore for me and continues to be a huge part of our long term vision. I look forward to continuing to expand Explore into new parts of the UK, US and into new territories.

I have loved my 13 year journey with Explore so far. I’ve learnt so much and it amazes me that I continue to learn new things every single day. I’m incredibly lucky to be a part of something so special and to work alongside such a wonderful team of driven people. The work that we all do to make a difference to so many children is incredible and I still sneak into a zone and tutor whenever I get the opportunity to!

Dora T&Cs

Thank you

If you have a question or prefer speaking to one of our team, please call us on 01483 447414 today.

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Try our 11 Plus quiz!

These are real questions taken from past papers for you and your child to sample, so you get a feel for what’s expected of them when it comes to sitting the exam.
As a guide, they should take three minutes to solve. Don’t worry if it takes longer or you don’t get all the answers correct, you can retake the test as many times as you want!

Choose your location

Sandra travelled the following distances across six days: 12 miles, 15 miles, 7 miles, 18 miles, 10 miles. What is the range of the distances that she travelled?*

8 miles

11 miles

18 miles

Which of the options matches the composite shape created when all the shapes are joined together by the corresponding letters?*

D

B

C

A

E

A picture of a skyscraper is drawn using a scale of 1cm : 8m. The height of the skyscraper is 184m. How tall will the skyscraper be in the drawing?*

230cm

184 cm

18.4cm

23cm

23m

Identify the sentence that is written in the passive voice:*

The antelope was chased through the wilderness for over half an hour.

The bus narrowly missed hitting another car yesterday morning.

Choose the correct word to complete the sentence:*

The clarinet player soaked her ---- before the performance.

reed

read

rede

Identify the part of the sentence that contains a superlative adjective:*

The ice-berg was the largest yet recorded by the intrepid explorer.

ice-berg

largest

recorded

intrepid

Unscramble the sentence below to identify the extra word:*

Went causing fence the the bolt horses to fireworks off

fence

horses

fireworks

the

Identify the subject of this sentence:*

After the eclipse, the lion bathed himself in the river.

eclipse

lion

bathed

river

Complete the word: _la__d so that it means the same, or nearly the same, as 'joyful'*

Our educational experts have created this fun quiz for you and your child to try out SATs questions at home. This is a great chance for your child to apply the knowledge and skills they have been building up at school. Can they beat you? We love a bit of friendly competition!

Choose a key stage assessment

Choose your location

Which is the longest amount of time?*

80 minutes

10 minutes

1 hour

35 minutes

Choose the option that must end with a question mark*

The film is due to start in 30 minutes

Tell me which film you would like to watch

Can you guess what the film will be about

Ask me about my favourite part of the film

Which word completes the sentence below?*

We had to stay inside at lunchtime .... it was raining.

or

if

because

that

Here is a train timetable from London to Glasgow via Birmingham. What time does the train arrive in Birmingham on Saturdays?*

12:00

12:34

11:57

Which of these numbers is odd?*

68

27

42

24

Identify the meaning of the root word 'port' in the word family below*

airport - import - portable - transport

sail

carry

lift

bring

What punctuation mark is needed between the words 'towel' and 'suncream'?*

When I go on holiday I need to pack a towel suncream and sunglasses

a full stop

a question mark

an apostrophe

a comma

Six apples cost the same as four pineapples. One pineapple costs 90p.*

How much does one apple cost?

£0.60

£0.80

£1.00

What time does the clock show?*

ten past six

half past two

half past three

quarter past six

What is 35% of 280?*

98%

98

102%

102

Which is the noun in the sentence below?*

The bird sang loudly.

sang

bird

loudly

the

Which sentence below uses past progressive tense?*

Alex found her homework too easy

Before dad went to work, he had a nap

Ross showed me his new car

Rachel was learning a dance for the competition

Ben ate a quarter of a pizza. Which fraction shows the amount he ate?*

1/4

2/4

3/4

4/4

Which verb completes the sentence so that it uses the subjunctive form?*

If I ..... the teacher, I would let the class leave early.

were

am

was

be

Which sentence uses an exclamation mark correctly?*

Do you like swimming!

Can you help me find my shoes!

It has started to rain!

How did you read that so fast!

3.4 + 4.023 = ?*

7.423

7.023

6.423

Which shape is a hexagon?*

A

B

C

D

Which word is the object in the sentence below?*

The girl ate a large pizza at the restaurant.

restaurant

large

girl

pizza

Which sentence is written in the present tense?*

Dad walked the dog.

Dad cleans the kitchen.

Dad went to work.

Dad read a book.

This thermometer shows the temperature in both ̊ C and ̊ F. What is 15 ̊ C in ̊ F?*

These are real questions taken from past papers for you and your child to sample, so you get a feel for what’s expected of them when it comes to sitting the exam.
As a guide, they should take three minutes to solve. Don’t worry if it takes longer or you don’t get all the answers correct, you can retake the test as many times as you want!

Choose your location

One word, which is in capitals, has had three consecutive letters taken out. These three letters on their own will make one correctly spelt word, without changing the order. Identify the three-letter word that completes the word with the missing letters.*

We have been told to VAE the island immediately.

cat

bin

ran

dog

met

What is the size of angle x in the triangle below?*

30 ̊

35 ̊

65 ̊

115 ̊

85 ̊

Jill arrived at school 45 minutes late. Kelly arrived seven minutes early. Jo arrived on time at 8:35a.m. How much later was Jill than Kelly?*

45 minutes

47 minutes

52 minutes

7 minutes

35 minutes

Identify the part of the sentence that contains the pronoun.*

"Do you

like strawberry

and vanilla ice cream?"

enquired Katie.

Look at the cube on the left. Which net matches the cube?*

A

B

C

D

E

Identify which word has the CLOSEST MEANING to belligerent.*

antagonistic

sensible

agreeable

peaceful

friendly

Cara is saving her paper round earnings to buy a new bicycle. She earns £6, seven days a week. The bicycle costs £462, how many weeks will it take her to save enough money to buy the bike?*

10 weeks

11 weeks

8 weeks

12 weeks

9 weeks

Identify the part of the sentence that contains a relative clause.*

On Saturday

the car broke down,

which distressed Viktor

as he was late for the match.

Look at the shape on the left. In which drawing on the right is it hidden? (Note: it is the same size and is facing the same direction.)*

A

B

C

D

E

A four-letter word is hidden at the end of one word and the beginning of the next word. Identify the two words that make the hidden word.*

The school curriculum now covers more than ever before. Have a go at our fun quiz to find out some of what your child will be tackling in class. Even better, get your son or daughter to have a go too! Can they beat you? We love a bit of friendly competition!

Choose a school year

Choose your location

Which word best completes this sentence?*

The dog sat on the ......

chat

mat

twist

Which of these letters is a vowel?*

e

s

t

h

Spell the missing word:*

I talked to my friend on the ..... last night

phoan

fone

foan

phone

Find the preposition in this sentence:*

The train went through a tunnel

The

train

went

through

tunnel

Which word does not belong?*

wear

fort

repair

share

Match the verbs to the correct tenses:*

Wriggled / will succeed / beam

Future / past / present

Past / present / future

Past / future / present

Present / future / past

Which of these is NOT a plot feature?*

Rising action

Metaphor

Climax

Conclusion

We ..... we were going in the right direction.*

asumed

assumeed

assumed

ussumed

Which tense is this sentence in?*

We will have finished dinner at 9pm.

Present

Conditional

Past

Future perfect

Which letter do you need to complete the word: c_t*

e

a

o

One fox, two ......?*

foxx

foxes

foxs

Which word is not a type of food?*

peanut

brick

flour

rice

apple

Which of these statements is a fact?*

Raindrops can be between 0.1 to 9mm wide

I absolutely loathe the rain!

Which sentence uses the apostrophe correctly?*

David’s trousers are red.

Davids' trousers are red

Davids trouser’s are red.

Identify the modal verb in this sentence:*

I should not have eaten all that chocolate last night.

should

have

eaten

last

Which word is the synonym for 'see'?*

Ocean

Sand

View

Castle

Which of these is NOT an auxiliary verb?*

Do

Be

Have

Listen

Which of these spellings does NOT need correcting?*

Smudge

Dentest

Cafateria

Budgit

How many phonic sounds make up this word?*

4

5

3

Chose the correct punctuation for this sentence:*

Oops did Jenny fall down

Oops did, Jenny fall down

Oops, did Jenny fall down?

Oops did Jenny fall down!

Which picture matches the sentence best: "I am a busy bee because I work hard."*

A

B

C

Pick the correct spelling:*

I ..... a gigantic fish yesterday!

caut

cawt

cort

caught

Which would be the best title for a factual book about the life cycle of a frog?*

My Bear and Me

From Tadpole to Frog

The Invisible Harry

Frog and Toad are Friends

Complete the sentence with the correct word:*

The panther silently stalked its .....

prey

pray

Which punctuation mark should introduce a list?*

:

;

!

?

-

Match the idiom to the its meaning:*

Flew off the handle

Quick thinking

Became angry

Felt surprised

The consequence of not training for the marathon was an injury mid training. How is the word 'consequence' being used in this sentence?*

Positive connotation

Negative connotation

Definition

Neutral connotation

Which number is one more than 7?*

6

8

4

Which shape comes next in the pattern?*

Triangle

Circle

Square

Complete the following sequence:*

3, 6, ?, 12, 15, ?, ?, 24, ?, 30

7...17, 23...27

10...18, 23...28

9...18, 21...27

A dessert is one scoop of ice cream and some sprinkles. If there are two flavours of ice cream and two types of sprinkles, how many different desserts can you make?*

2

4

8

Find the mode of these numbers:*

4, 4, 5, 7, 8, 8, 9, 4, 3

7

8

3

4

5

What is the ratio of blue balls to red balls shown in this picture?*

4:1

3:1

1:3

1:4

Which of these values is the largest?*

5/4

11/12

1:2

90%

a³x a² = ?*

a⁶

a²

a⁵

a⁹

Which number is the odd one out?*

11

121

73

29

127

53

Which shape is the largest?*

Star

Square

Circle

Count back three numbers from 78. Which is the correct number?*

75

76

74

Complete the number sentence:*

24 > .....?

24

11

30

Which of these shapes are congruent?*

C and D

B and A

B and F

E and F

Three cakes are shared equally between 10 children. How much cake does each child get?*

2/5

1/2

3/10

6 cubed = .....?

36

216

18

24

Which of the following numbers is a common factor of 18 and 72?*

8

10

5

9

Take a look at the shape on the left. Which pattern makes this shape?*